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US cites 'fishery failure' in Bay State

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff -- June 17, 2005

As a massive red tide bloom snaked further south around Martha's Vineyard yesterday, the US Commerce Department declared a ''fishery failure" in Massachusetts -- opening the door for more federal disaster relief for fishermen.

State marine officials closed shellfish beds along the south side of Martha's Vineyard after Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists reported high counts of the toxic algae in the water during a research cruise. Shellfish meat in the area has not yet become contaminated, but state officials said it soon will be.

''It is the prudent thing to do. . . . . We've developed some skill [with this outbreak] at predicting what is going to happen," said J. Michael Hickey, Massachusetts' chief shellfish biologist, who said the area is rarely used by commercial fishermen.

The news of the spread, coupled with winds that could push the bloom back toward shore, alarmed Rhode Island officials and shellfishermen who are growing increasingly concerned the algae could enter the Ocean State's waters.

''We're monitoring it closely," said Gail Mastrati, a spokeswoman for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Woods Hole scientists were planning a cruise today to track the bloom's path. Don Anderson, a red tide specialist from Woods Hole, said he was hopeful the red tide would move out to sea and away from coastal areas.

The persistent bloom has crippled the shellfish industry in Maine and Massachusetts, costing fishermen an estimated $3 million a week for the outbreak that started in May. State officials say they cannot recall a worse outbreak of the single-celled organisms.

Despite the outbreak, restaurants and markets have been able to get shellfish from Canada and other sources. All shellfish available on the market should be safe to eat and no one has reported becoming ill from consuming them.

While about 40 tern deaths were likely caused by their eating red tide-infected sand eels at Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, no other bird deaths have been reported, state officials said yesterday.

The declaration by US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez opens the door for shellfishermen to receive funds for their lost income, but Congress would have to appropriate money to give them grants, loans, or unemployment benefits.

Last week, Governor Mitt Romney declared a state of emergency because of the bloom. Since then, he and others such as US Senators John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy have lobbied for federal funds. The US Small Business Administration has pledged low-interest loans to fishermen, distributors, and others affected.

Officials are still waiting to hear if the Federal Emergency Management Agency will declare an emergency due to the red tide.

Beth Daley can be reached by e-mail at Bdaley@globe.com.